When it was time for lunch, Andre drove over to the hospital to see Valerie. When he got there, she was standing outside the door waiting for him. He waved at her, and she walked over to his car and got in. He smiled and said, "Since you've invited me today, where do you have in mind for us to go?" "Any place you pick is fine by me," Valerie said."No, I want you to pick a location," Andre insisted.After thinking for a while, Valerie finally came up with her favorite fast-food restaurant, and Andre scoffed, "Of all places.""Well, you had your chance," she replied."Okay, let's go, ma'am."They soon arrived at the location, and Valerie ordered her favorite food for herself and Andre."I'm really in trouble today," Andre commented."Indeed you are. This is what I choose for you, and you have to eat it," Valerie said smiling.Andre began to eat, and said, "Hmm, this doesn't taste so bad. It is my first time, but it doesn't feel like it.""I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Valerie r
Minutes later, Valerie sat on the chair, feeling aggrieved. She stared at her torn red gown, which now lay on the ground. Her carefully applied makeup was smeared all over her lip area while Andre sat beside her with a satisfied smile on his face.Seeing that she was upset, he gently tapped her back and said, "I'm sorry, Val, I just lost control."Valerie pushed his arms away. "How could you do this to me, Andre? You suddenly turned into a beast I could not recognize as though you have been starved of sex for years. Do you know how much effort I put into looking like this? I've never looked so beautiful and now you ruined it.""Oh, come on, don't be like this, Val." He replied. "I just can't seem to get enough of you even if we do it every day. You know you're beautiful no matter what you wear. In my eyes, you're exceptionally beautiful every second, every minute of the day.""Enough with the flattery," she replied. "You ruined my mood and my night.""Well, but you did enjoy it, with
After finishing his meal, Andre looked at Julius, who had a frown on his face and said, "I thought you were in agreement with this meeting, but I sense that you're not happy about it. Why did you come if you knew you didn't want to be here?"Valerie glanced at Julius and then back at Andre, hoping Julius wouldn't give away their plan She wished he would just play along since it was his idea in the first place to search Andre's phone.Julius smiled and replied, "You're right, Andre. I don't want to be here any more than necessary. However, look at Valerie over here. She's very precious to me, and no matter how much I dislike the current situation, I have to prioritize her happiness. Valerie told me that this is what she wanted, so I had to come. She has told me about your trial relationship for a month, and though I wasn't happy about it, I respect her decision. If, after that one month, Valerie still wants to be with you or chooses to spend her life with you, I won't stop her. Her h
Andre, Julius, and Melody watched in amazement as Valerie took the stage and began to sing. Andre, completely captivated by her performance, couldn't take his eyes off her. Valerie sang and smiled directly at Andre, while even Julius stared at her in surprise. Sensing the moment, Melody discreetly took advantage of the distraction. She slowly moved backward behind Julius and quietly made her way to the restroom.Upon entering the restroom, Melody swiftly locked the door and leaned against it, her heart racing. She reached into her jeans pocket and retrieved the chip given to her by Drew. Following Drew's instructions, she inserted the chip into her phone. A red arrow appeared on the screen along with a warning message that read, "Warning! Unrecognized device, disconnect." Melody glanced at the time and realized she still had four minutes and forty-four seconds remaining. Though tempted to remove the chip, she recalled Drew's explicit instruction not to do so until after five minute
Drew stared at his damaged computer, feeling frustrated and angry. He had no one else to blame but himself. He couldn't ask Melody why she didn't remove the chip from the phone when the warning popped up because he was the one who had told her to leave it there for five minutes, and she had taken it out immediately after five minutes. He had lost all the important information in his phone, but he found solace in one thing: he had managed to take down the details of the Ferris contract, which had originally been meant for him but was stolen by Andre. "No matter what, I am not going to let it go through," he vowed.As he looked at the address and other details he had written down, he said to himself, "After tomorrow, there will be no more Andre Scorpion." He started brainstorming different ideas on how to execute his plans. Knowing Andre, he was sure that he would be accompanied by his underlings. Drew had a rough idea of their numbers, and he knew that only a few of them, like Sol
Andre drove Valerie back home more than an hour later, and when they arrived in front of her house, he kissed her goodnight and said, "I will see you tomorrow.""Looking forward to it," Valerie replied before entering her house.Inside, she found Julius sitting on the couch, seemingly waiting for her. Melody was nowhere to be seen, indicating that Julius had already dropped her off at home. Valerie sat beside him, feeling anxious, and asked, "So, how did it go? What exactly happened? What did you find in Andre's phone?"Julius sighed and began to explain, "Well, as Melody mentioned earlier in the car, Andre is faithful to Valerie. I checked his messages, calls, and even documents, and it's clear that she is the only woman in his life."A wild smile spread across Valerie's face as she exclaimed, "Really? I'm so happy! This is wonderful. I know it doesn't make Andre a saint but at the very least, I can give our relationship another chance." However, noticing her brother's somber expre
Valerie stared at her phone with a frown on her face. Andre had ended the call abruptly and she thought he wanted to call her back, but he didn't. "Why had he hung up the phone just like that?" she wondered. She decided to call him again, and when he answered, she immediately expressed her dissatisfaction, "I am really cross with you, Andre. How could you just hang up on me like that and then..."Andre interrupted her with laughter, "I was just waiting to see your reaction, and honestly, this reaction makes me very happy.""Oh, wow! Amusing yourself at my expense, I see." She replied. "In all honesty, I was planning to call you before you called me again." Andre chortled. "I ended the call because I wanted to think of something really sweet to tell you. I was making plans to repay your heart-melting gesture, you know. The fact that you called me, professed your love for me and wished me a good night is not something to be taken lightly."Valerie rolled her eyes. "Just a simple 'I
After sending a text message to Drew, Andre smiled, feeling pleased by how successful his plans had gone. Now he knew for a fact that someone in Valerie's group was working with Drew. No matter how he thought about it, the only person he could think of was Melody. It couldn't be Julius because Valerie would never support Drew, and Julius would never go against Valerie. However, he couldn't be entirely sure. All the men Drew had taken with him had been killed, and he also learned that Drew was able to escape with an injury to his leg. If he hadn't been smart enough to change his plans, perhaps he might have also ended up injured. But this was going to teach Drew a lesson—that he was no match for Andre.When the deal had concluded successfully, Andre returned to his mansion. When Soldier came back, he said, "We lost only one man, one of the men we employed.""That's sad," Andre replied. "Why did that happen when we had the element of surprise? Besides, we outnumbered them.""Yes, that
EIGHTEEN YEARS LATERQueen woke up in the morning, opened the windows, looked through them, and smiled. Today was going to be a wonderful day because her fiancé, Bryce, was visiting. He belonged to a different gang called: "The Wild Stallions," and he was coming so they could finalize their engagement because she turned eighteen yesterday.She had been betrothed to him since she was ten, and ever since then, she had only had him in her heart. He was strong, charming, and everything she wanted. She believed that with him in her life, everything was going to be perfect.Queen was in her first year of college and very strong, just like her father. Andre Scorpion had trained her to be a very skilled fighter so she could take over from him when the time came.Her family, the Black Scorpions, had been the leaders of all the gangs for fifty years. However, a week ago, they handed over this position to another family. Despite that, they were still the strongest, richest, and most highly conn
Andre took Valerie to the roof of the hospital. When they reached the top, she looked around and asked, "What is it you want to show me, Andre?" He moved closer to her and said, "Close your eyes."She smiled and obeyed, closing her eyes. Suddenly, she heard a bang, followed by another and then another. She kept hearing different sounds and realized they were fireworks. "Open your eyes," Andre said.Valerie opened her eyes and turned around as Andre directed her to face the direction of the sound. As she looked up at the sky, she saw vibrant colors and, finally, the words "Will you marry me?" popped up."Wow!" Valerie exclaimed in excitement. She turned to give Andre her reply, and at that moment, he went down on one knee, presenting her with a ring. "Yes, I'll marry you," Valerie said and stretched out her hand.Andre put the ring on her finger and then got up, pulling her into his arms for a hug. "I am beyond excited, Andre," Valerie said. "I didn't know you were ready for marri
While Andre and Valerie were still together in the hospital room, Julius walked in. Seeing how close they were, he coughed, and Andre turned to see him."Hi Andre," Julius greeted."Hi Julius," Andre replied."So, the doctor said Melody is going to live, but she's still unconscious," Julius informed."Oh, okay. Good for her," Andre responded."I'm sorry, Julius. I know everything that happened..." Andre apologized."No," Julius shook his head. "No, Andre, it's not your fault. There are some things that are your fault, though. But there are other things I take responsibility for. If I had not let Melody into my life, Valerie wouldn't have been put in so much danger.""No, you don't understand," Andre said. "Drew would not have sent her into your life if.....""Maybe not. Maybe he wouldn't have gone to the extent he did today. But I almost lost Valerie, and it's all my fault. I was so focused on chasing you and making sure you stayed away from my sister that I didn't even notice the ene
When they arrived at the hospital, Andre opened the door of the car and carried Valerie out. Afterward, he rushed her to the hospital. Right after that, Julius arrived, and a stretcher was brought for him. He placed Melody onto the stretcher, and she was also rushed into the hospital.As they took Valerie into a private ward, Andre sat by her side and watched as the doctor attended to her. Seeing that he had so much blood on his body, the doctor said, "You seem to be faring worse than she is. Why don't you get your injuries treated?""Okay," Andre said, not wanting Valerie to worry.Valerie lay on the bed with her eyes closed as she waited for the doctor to carry out different tests on her. Meanwhile, another doctor attended to Andre. He took off his jacket, and the injuries on his shoulder, arms, and face were treated.All the while, Valerie kept waiting for the results of her test. Andre had not said anything about her pregnancy so far, and a part of her was afraid that he was goin
The moment Julius and Melody rushed into the house, Drew turned his attention to both of them. He stared in surprise at Melody, and when Andre noticed Drew's distraction, he took the opportunity to slip one hand into his pocket and press the button before lifting it back up.Outside, where they had been waiting, Soldier finally received the signal. "It's time for us to go in," he said. "We need to be very careful. There may be hostages."They began making their way slowly and cautiously into the building. Julius's face contorted in horror as he stared at Drew and Valerie. His complexion turned pale as he had witnessed numerous dead bodies strewn across the ground while running inside.Although he worked for an investigating firm, Julius had never encountered such a sight before. He believed that Andre must have killed all these people just to reach Valerie. Looking at Andre, blood staining his arms and body, he gazed at Valerie and back at Andre, understanding that Andre truly loved
Andre stared at the mansion for a while, and finally turned and walked toward the opposite mansion, which was higher than the one Drew was in. As he reached the other mansion with his bag, he kept climbing until he got to the roof. He positioned himself, took out his rifle from his bag, and pointed at the building. From his vantage point, he could see all the men stationed outside. Without wasting any time, he came up with a better idea. He knew that if he was the only one shooting, it wouldn't take long for them to figure out his location and take cover. So, he called for Soldier and the rest to join him in the same building. Once they were all there, he asked them to position themselves with their rifles and wait for his order. After pressing the button and hearing his phone ring, they were to begin shooting. By ensuring their vantage point, they could take down at least seventy men. Andre made his way to the back of the house. At this point, he pressed the button, and Soldier
Valerie heard noises around her, voices that were unfamiliar, and struggled to open her eyes. The moment she did, she saw a few men with guns at the door. When she looked to her right, she saw someone sitting on a chair, one of his legs seemed to be bandaged as though he had been shot, and he had a crutch by his side. She lifted her face a little bit to get a better view, and when she saw his face, she remembered that Andre had once shown her his picture, and she recalled his name: Drew. She quickly bent her head down and closed her eyes, pretending to be unconscious.She thought back to the events of the day, how Melody had tricked her, and how she had fought with her to deliver her to Drew. She suddenly began to fear for her life. She knew that Drew was Andre's enemy, and if he was keeping her there, it was surely in a bid to get Andre to come. This was one of the things she feared about men in the mafia. For the first time, she wished that she was moving around with a gun. The f
When Melody got into the car, she noticed Valerie's phone lying on her seat and picked it up. She turned it off and placed her hand on her racing chest. She turned on the car and began to drive to the location Drew had given her.When she arrived, she was surprised to see a big mansion. She had never met Drew in that house before, but what surprised her, even more, was the presence of so many underlings—over a hundred—positioned in different places, armed with weapons. She felt sorry for Valerie because she knew she wouldn't make it, and she also felt guilty. She tried to justify her actions, telling herself she didn't have a choice. She owed Drew her life and was only fulfilling the promise to do anything he wanted in return for saving her.When she finally parked the car, she came out and pulled Valerie, who was still unconscious, out of it. Some of the underlings noticed her struggling and came to assist. Together, they took Valerie into the house. Drew, using crutches on one si
After the call with Drew ended, Melody sat on her couch, thinking about what to do. She was very scared. It was bad enough that Andre was closing in on her, from what Drew had said, and now she had to get Valerie. How was she supposed to do it? Drew had given her until midnight. She paced up and down, thinking about what to do until an idea suddenly struck her mind, and she stopped. She looked at the time on her clock and saw that it was a few minutes to five. She knew that Valerie always closed from work around six or six thirty, and judging from the fact that her relationship with Andre was now good, it was likely that he would come to pick her up after work. After coming up with a plan in her head, she quickly dashed out of the house and hurried to Valerie's place of work.Valerie was still in her office when she was informed that there was someone waiting to see her. At first, she thought it was Andre since he had called her and said that he would be picking her up for dinner.